In the latest example of today’s topic – In the 7 July 2015 cnn.com/Money article, Gun sales spike in June, by Aaron Smith, it is stated, “Last month the FBI conducted nearly 1.53 million background checks, which are required for all in-store purchases, but not for sales at gun shows or between individuals”.
This is of course a lie. Not so much the number of background checks (of that we can only take his word (actually not something I am prepared to do)) but, for any that take to the time to know the law, the assertion the they are not required at gun shows. 90+% of the sales at guns shows are by Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders. All FFL holders are required to run background checks for all sales (exception noted below) regardless of the location. Aaron Smith knows this. Aaron Smith is a liar. Should I give him the benefit of the doubt? Should I presume he is just ignorant of the topic and is doing the best he can? He IS writing for the “Money” section after all. The answer is a resounding NO! He is not writing for some minor rag in some Podunk town in the middle of nowhere. He is writing for CNN. If he is THAT good, he should be THAT good! But of course he IS that good. He phrases it the way he does on purpose. To further the agenda of the Liberals/Progressives/Socialists. And most people will just take his word for it. Mission accomplished.
So I ask, what is the point of mass media if they continually and blatantly lie to us. How many of you take them at face value? Why?

As an aside, part of the point of his article is to suggest that since the number of background checks is increasing, the number of gun sales is therefore increasing. Three points are to be made (mifireaFFLLibersnor of course, but you’ll only hear it here).
– FFL holders are not required to run background checks on concealed carry permit (CCW) holders. The rational being that CCW holders have already had a background check (one far more in-depth that one used to purchase a firearm). In my state, a CCW is valid for five (5) years. In that time I may purchase one gun or one gun a year or one a month or one a week or one a day. For none of which will a background check be run. The safeguard of course being that: a) if I do something that would make it illegal for me to purchase a gun or hold the permit, it will be revoked and b) I must still complete all the “no, I’ve not done anything bad in my past” paperwork under threat of fine and jail time if it turns out I’m lying. But since I don’t work for the press, nor am I a criminal, I’m probably ok.
– Not all background checks lead to gun sales. Kinda the point if you think about it. Of course thinking is not something the press is known for.
– He is correct (imagine that!) in that sales between individuals do not require background checks. Since criminals, by definition, don’t care about the law, the presumption behind this is that the seller knows the buyer well enough to know they can legally own a gun. As well, just to ensure this, it is illegal to KNOWINGLY sell a gun to someone not legally allowed to own/possess one. Therefore, if you are a criminal you won’t care anyway and if you are an upstanding citizen you won’t sell the gun if you know that person can’t legally own one.

Finally, he can only PRESUME that since background checks are increasing, gun sales are increasing. Not my major issue with his article but none-the-less. Leaving the whole issue of illegal sales out of the argument (let’s presume he was only referring to legitimate, legal sales), maybe more people are currently buying from gun stores than their friends and relatives. Maybe CCW permit holders have all the guns they want at this time and were not buying last month.

Another minor example: the “press” reports that “The official confirmation had to wait until new population figures were released by the Census Bureau this summer. The new tally, released in late June, shows that as of July 1, 2014, about 14.99 million Latinos live in California, edging out the 14.92 million whites in the state.” On the surface this may seem somewhat innocuous. This is not only a lie but it is also purposefully divisive. The problem? Latinos ARE white. Latino is an ethnicity, not a race. White is a race. The US Census Bureau knows this. SO…. Yet another misrepresentation by the press. In this case, another division to set one group of people against another. Illegal immigration aside (which, by the way, isCe not all Latinos!), WHO CARES? Why do we need to concern ourselves with such divisions of people in this country (or any for that matter). If you wish to differentiate legal from illegal (read, criminal) people in this country, more power to you. Goes to sovereignty. However, in any other argument, WHY? Why must we divide by race? Why must we divide by ethnicity? Why can’t we all just be American?

Regardless, between presumptions, ignorance and outright lies, the mainstream media provides more of an amusement than a source of valid information. Take it for what it is worth.

>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…

So, working on taxes. Not happy. Which I think is kinda a requirement when doing taxes. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for paying my fair share. Whoa! Almost sounding like a liberal there. Wait. No. I’m ok. Libs are for OTHERS paying THEIR “fair share.” Hard to keep this stuff straight sometimes.

So, where was I?

I have been somewhat remiss in my blogging. My excuse? No, I have not run out of things to say. By far. I’m going with illness and work. Of course, had my wife taken proper care of me I would not have gotten sick. Of this she is well aware. Mainly because I made her so. Work on the other hand is work. For some reason the payroll department seems to want me to show up to “earn” my pay (sorry, my wife’s pay – I suspect I will get that wrong many times today). Sigh! Maybe switching to Liberal wouldn’t be so bad. I’m sure somebody out there wouldn’t mind having their money stolen and given to us for my wife’s benefit. Off topic (although I’m not yet sure what the topic of the day is).

Where was I? Working on taxes. Boy is that a fun thing to do. You are always caught between loving and hating the thought of a large return. Loving it because it is “found” money. Hating it because when you think about it, and you should, it is YOUR money that you lost in the first place. While it is never fun to write yet another check to the government so it can waste even MORE of your hard earned money, getting a refund of your interest free loan to those bureaucrats is not the best thought either. Although I am nowhere near the end of this year’s journey into the annual tax nightmare, I have no doubt I will be writing that check. To all you Libs out there, you are welcome. To all you conservatives out there, where the heck are you? What’s the deal leaving me to continue to fund bridges to nowhere, midnight basketball and mating habits of African Bullfrogs (or was it Australian?). Next time get off your sofa and vote! I blame YOU far more than the bottom-of-the-pyramid Libs. They are just sheep. Pawns with no desire to educate themselves. Apathetic. Easier to just follow their government shepherds and eat whatever the mass media feeds them. But enough of that.

So many things to discuss. So many things in this country that need tweaking or a major overhaul. So many things I am just not in the mood to discuss today. I am tired. Illness? Work? The problems of this country and the world? I don’t know. Just tired. The more I venture out and view the actions and interactions of my fellow man, the more tired I grow. Maybe not tired. Maybe weary. At church today we were instructed on the parts of the whole. Not to despair at whatever part you are to play. The example, for those of you that have ventured into the world of the Bible, was of a physical body. The foot, the hand, the ear, the eye. Each has a reason for being. Each should except its role and understand it has an important part to play. The idea is that we individuals also have a specific role to play. A role in the totality of mankind. I sat there and thought about that (yes, I can think and pay attention at the same time). I thought many of the problems we have in society may very well come from many of us not “playing” our role. Not satisfied with being a foot or an ear. Always thinking that someone else has a better role to play and against all the talents with which we’ve been blessed we try to be something we are not. Why is that?

For some odd reason we look up to the White Collar workers – the doctors, lawyers, professors, etc. We look down on the “unskilled”, Blue Collar workers – the garbage man (sorry, sanitation engineers), custodian, cook, etc. Why is that? When we come home from work in the evening on “Trash Day” are we not glad the can is empty and prepared for another week of our rubbish? When we go out for a nice evening on the town or a Sunday breakfast are we not glad there is a cook in the kitchen of our chosen restaurant? Are we not happy the end of each work day does not include having to take our waste basket to the dumpster? Someone will be there after we leave to clear it out. We all have a role to play. We should be not only thankful for our own, we should be thankful for that of each of our fellow man.

That said, I see much of the problems of society and the world stemming from individuals that want to play a role for which they are not suited. As mentioned, we all have God given talents (and yes, God still gave you talents whether you believe in Him or not). To be truly happy in life, it behooves us to make a determined effort to recognize and appreciate what ours are and make it our life’s ambition to select an appropriate role. A role that uses the talents we have. Not only for our benefit, but the benefit of all. Not only would we be happier, but mankind as a whole would be far better off.

So many want to be something they are not, should not and often cannot. But for whatever reason – envy; desire; pressure from peers, parents, others in authority – they insist their “lot in life” is not theirs. They MUST be something they are not. They MUST be something for which they are not prepared. For which they have no talent. If an individual’s talents lie in a specific area and they fail to use them, something in the play of mankind is not getting done. A role is not being played. This tends to throw everything out of whack. Take my word for it (or not, don’t really care all that much today), everything is out of whack. The play is not following the script. This leads not only to unhappiness on the part of the individual but a “disturbance in the force” (yes, I actually said that). There is currently a major disturbance. I believe my weariness derives from this disturbance and, in part, my lack of time, talent or treasure to fix it. I know, I know. Who the heck am I to take the world on my shoulders? I’m actually not. My weariness stems from the knowledge that neither is anyone else. So many of us are not fulfilling our role. Nobody individually is able to solve the problem. However, as each domino falls due to someone not fulfilling their role, those around it, fulfilling their obligation or not, are also brought down. This leads to the state of affairs in which we now find ourselves. Sigh…

Ok… back to taxes. The topic or the task? As long as everyone is of the understanding that I am (sorry, my wife is) being robbed and my (sorry, her) treasure is being wasted, I will get back to the task. However, if I learn in the future that some of you out their actually believe I am (she is) not paying my (her) fair share, I shall delve DEEPLY into the subject and pelt you unmercifully with the facts. You WON’T like it I assure you…

>>> The day is at a close, the night is drawing in and my cigar awaits – ’til next time…